Respective perspectives worshiping directives - blindly killing for our dogma,1
until our sons meet in the garden.2 Torches scald the night sky; the youth rise up
and set their elders to the gallows.3 Fire in the lighthouse: All our advances, a
spark away from conflagration.
In the night I saw you fall, oh wicked star,4 illuminate our hate, show us who we
really are.
Books were burned away - only swords remained.5 The prophets died for peace,
stabbed by preying priests. As the wise man said I'll keep my heart and lose my
head.6 Without a neck how can I sink with a millstone to the bottom of the sea?7
The bottom of the sea - and I’m finding the violence - it looks like me.
Singing songs of life when all we know is death.8 A world of orphans9 left emptyhanded.
If love’s a sin I’ll become a heretic.
Recurring intervention:10 Framing the narrative to cleanse our tainted
conscience.11
Harvesting destruction: Reaping the sow from weapons planted in the soil.12

Terrified little son, encumbered by your sword, you can hide your fear but won’t
shed the sheer weight of your own humanity - humanity. You can face me
towards the mountains where I meet our Mother’s gaze. 13 14 Too blinded by this
hatred to recognize your brother’s face.15
Singing songs of life when all we know is death. A world of orphans left emptyhanded.
I’ll collapse - head parting from my weary shoulders - seeds of life spilling from
my palms.16 Subverting love17 will take hold in this hateful soil; my blood is the
water. Inshallah, Shalom. Love will take hold.18
13 Golgotha
14 Acts



Behind the Song:
1 The clash of violent Jihadists and western imperialism
2 The Fertile Crescent
3 The most common, and often overlooked, victims of violent Jihad are peaceful Muslims.
4 Luke 10:18
5 The United States has dropped 20,000 bombs in Iraq and Syria in the last year.
6 Mark 6:14-29
7 Luke 17:2
8 Shane Claiborne, Jesus for President
9 Over one billion children are currently experiencing deprivation of basic needs.
10 Noam Chomsky, Failed States
11 Stanley Hauerwas, War and the American Difference
12 Iran-Contra affair (1985-1987) and more current instances of Western supply of weapons to unstable regions for means of political and economic capital.
13 Golgotha
14 Acts 7:54-60
15 The twins, torn apart by war, reunite - one the prisoner, one the executioner.
16 Tertullian, Apologeticus
17 John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus
18 If you would like to make an immediate impact in the lives of orphans around the world, you can learn more and donate to Compassion International: www.compassion.com
Stay informed about the plight of refugees around the world at: http://www.unhcr.org